Q: Where's Muntanui? I can't find it on any map.A: That's because we made the name up, one night after a few drinks. The map at the bottom of the Contact page will show you where we are.

Q: What does "Muntanui" mean?A: "Munted" can mean "broken" or "damaged" (the Mayor of Christchurch famously wore a shirt printed with "It's munted" in the aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake) but that doesn't apply here. There's nothing at all wrong with Muntanui -- it's perfect! But "munted" can also mean "somewhat the worse for wear, having imbibed perhaps a flagon or two too much of the local twinkly juice"... which might have some relevance here. That's all I'm sayin'.

The Maori suffix "nui" means "big" or "large" or "great" and features a lot in New Zealand place-names. Put the two together and you basically have the story.

The name has stuck, not just with us but with people we know. In the future, we might have to get something with a tad more gravitas for the business side of things but, in our hearts, this wonderful place will always be Muntanui.

Q: This all seems a bit tongue-in-cheek. How serious are you REALLY about living sustainably?A: Very; just you wait til I publish that Muntanui Manifesto I haven't started writing yet. We wouldn't be attempting this if we weren't serious but we need humour and fun somewhere in the mix too. There's nothing sustainable about dreariness -- living it, or reading about it.

Q: What's Permaculture, anyway?A: Permaculture is one of those very simple concepts that's really hard to define. Part of the difficulty lies in its all-embracing nature: the principles of permaculture can be applied to your garden, your farm and your community.

Here's the simplest and best definition I can come up with:Permaculture is both the art and science of designing systems that sustain themselves.